1 year after my first loop... advice please :)

dazzlaa · 18 Feb 2020 at 09:46

Hey,
I ventured into watercooling last year and completed a full hard tube loop quite easily I thought. Aaaanyway, I drained the system last weekend, made a right mess, got fluid everywhere and one thing that really stood out was the smell. The fluid smelt like burnt oil (EK Cryofluid). Also, my tubing has some like bacteria build-up and has really ruined it in places. I think some pipe cleaners may help here but I am concerned about my Rads.
I always ran the tank (EK Combi) about 3/4 full which obvs left air in the top. I'm guessing I had air in the system, I never really got 100% of the tiny bubbles out. Should the reservoir be full?

I have completely gone back to air for now until I rebuild but I am looking for advice to avoid this happening next time I install it all. I am on the fence whether I should just not watercool again at all but the noise back on air is properly annoying after living with a relatively 'silent' PC for a year!

Any opinions on this?

Cheers

dazzlaa · 18 Feb 2020 at 10:08

verydodgy1 said:
the answer is Mayhems Blitz kit and distilled water to be followed by Mayhems X1

Just checked that out... cleaning kit sounds decent! thanks man.

dazzlaa · 18 Feb 2020 at 11:40

MikeTimbers said:
before using the blitz kit, just use water until it runs clean then use the blitz kit.

in theory cryofuel makes organic growth of any kind impossible; fwiw, cryofuel has had a fair amount of criticism lately. I've just bought a load of Mayhems and have just filled a rig with it to see how it differs. Seems a little "thinner" than cryofuel but since I only did it on Sunday it's too soon to say if it's any better or worse.

I originally thought with EK being the biggest player in the market, the coolant would be sound but it really has made me wonder. I’ll try the Mayhems next time

dazzlaa · 22 Feb 2020 at 07:47

R B Customs said:
get it back under water where it belongs

I will do... really annoying listening to fans ramping up under load haha.

just waiting until the 30XX series lands then I will rebuild fully. Going to do the radiator clean this week so they won’t be growing inside!